Dodgers News: Dustin May, Walker Buehler updates and ripping apart trade proposals

The Los Angeles Dodgers are nearing the halfway point of the 2023 season and it has been a wild year already. Los Angeles has experienced an up-and-down rollercoaster campaign that has been unlike the last several years, which were all dominant.

The 2023 MLB All-Star Game is right around the corner and that will provide the team a soft reset to gather itself and get ready to push forward for what should be an entertaining second half. If the Dodgers are going to win the National League West, they're going to have to play better baseball and keep up with the Diamondbacks and Giants (how?).

Thankfully, it looks like the Dodgers could be getting some much-needed reinforcements, not just from external help at the trade deadline, but internally with guys coming back from injury.

Dodgers News: Huge updates for Dustin May and Walker Buehler

The Dodgers have had to deal with a laundry list of injuries on the pitching staff and it looks like the team may have turned a corner with a brighter future ahead. Just days after Julio Urías made a rehab start in Rancho Cucamonga, Dave Roberts provided a very promising update for Dustin May.

According to Roberts, May has begun playing catch six weeks after he was first shut down by the Dodgers. This is the first step in May's recovery and should make Dodgers fans hopeful that he can return in time for a late-season push to the playoffs — whether that be as a starter or as a reliever.

Walker Buehler may also be back in the fold for the Dodgers in some capacity late in the season or in the playoffs. Buehler, who has not pitched this season as he's recovering from Tommy John surgery, posted a video of a bullpen session to social media this week. Buehler has previously mentioned that he wants to return to the Dodgers by Sept. 1, but it's unclear if that's a realistic target date.

Bleacher Report's trade proposals for Dodgers are insane

Bleacher Report recently broke down five potential trade ideas for the Dodgers at the deadline this year that has the fanbase buzzing. While it's always fun to speculate about trade packages, the deals mentioned are lopsided one way or the other and are worth breaking down for any fans who happen to be expressing any sort of excitement about them.

Here are the five packages outlined in the article:

• Dodgers get: RHP Lucas Giolito and SS Tim Anderson; White Sox get: RHP Nick Frasso and C Jesus Galiz
• Dodgers get: RHP Marcus Stroman, 3B Patrick Wisdom and RHP Michael Fulmer; Cubs get: C Dalton Rushing
• Dodgers get: RHP Shane Bieber and SS Amed Rosario; Guardians get: 2B Michael Busch, OF Josue De Paula and SS Rayne Doncon
• Dodgers get: LHP Jordan Montgomery and OF Dylan Carlson; Cardinals get: RHP Gavin Stone, RHP Nick Frasso and LHP Maddux Bruns
• Dodgers get: LHP James Paxton and OF Adam Duvall; Red Sox get: RHP River Ryan and LHP Maddux Bruns

Some of these trades look like absolute steals for the Dodgers while others look like massive overpays. All of them are polarizing, as none really make sense in a value perspective for both sides.

For example, would it be awesome to see the Dodgers get Shane Bieber and Amed Rosario for their most tradeable top-100 prospect and two guys outside of the top 100? Absolutely! Would the Guardians ever do this in their right mind for a former Cy Young winner (who is 28) and a league-average shortstop? Not a chance. If the Guardians trade Bieber they are going to want to get a haul.

Would it be sweet to get three legitimate big-league talents from the Cubs for the cost of just one top-100 prospect, who isn't even the best catching prospect in the organization? One-hundred percent. Would Chicago trade its best pitcher, a solid bat and a decent reliever for one prospect when they are only 4.5 games back in the NL Central? Absolutely not.

The contrast between the White Sox and Cardinals trades are the best. In the theorized White Sox deal, the Dodgers get a good, serviceable right-handed pitcher with All-Star potential as well as an All-Star shortstop. The price for those two players is one promising pitching prospect a catching prospect who is ranked 23rd in the Dodgers' system by MLB Pipeline.

In the Cardinals deal, the Dodgers get a serviceable left-handed pitcher who is very similar to Giolito numbers-wise (without the All-Star appearance) and a young outfielder who hasn't lived up to expectations and is a league-average hitter at best. The cost for that package is the same promising pitching prospect (Frasso), another promising pitching prospect (Bruns), and a top-100 prospect (Stone).

The White Sox trade is worth more, yet the Dodgers are trading less for it in these theorized deals. Flip the two packages around and it starts to make more sense.

Perhaps the most confusing of the bunch is the Red Sox trade. Paxton has been good this season but has only started eight games because of injury. In fact, he has started 14 games since the 2020 season. Duvall has also been good, but only has 101 plate appearances. In his last five seasons, he has an OPS+ of 101, making him dead average. The price of those two players are two very promising pitching prospects who would be among the top 7-8 prospects in Boston's organization.

Are the Dodgers going to make a trade at the deadline this year? Most likely. Are they going to make any deals like this? Absolutely not.